"Some of the posts on this thread have been nothing short of bullying."

This is of course true, and abusive/flaming posts SHOULD really be deleted. Unfortunately, it seems that as far as the powers that be here are concerned, ANYBODY participating in a potentially controversial thread such as this one is foolish to do so, and only has themselves to blame if they're on the receiving end of trolling.

But isn't almost ANY discussion worth its salt, potentially controversial? MOST of us have kept reasonably civil here, and the "look" of the thread could have been kept so much more positive with just a small degree of sensible editing. I think this is an occasion where our, er, rulers maybe need to show a little more humility and an acceptance that the system is failing those of us who DO avoid getting personal.

I agree, this really needs sorting out.